This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Junior high schools in Davis County were bulging at the seams with 1,200 to 1,400 students overflowing into portable buildings at Kaysville, Farmington and Fairfield junior highs.
Centennial Junior High was built to ease the bulge. It opened Aug. 22 with a student body of slightly more than 1,000 seventh- through ninth-graders. Students living west of Interstate 15 from Kaysville to Layton attend the new school.
Principal Aaron Hogge, 41, believes all students can learn with the right environment, and he works to foster it through technology. Each student at the school is given a computer netbook to use for the school year. Hogge said school curriculum is Web-based, and while it's not a paperless school, educators are moving in that direction.
In the past, he issued paper planners to each student at Centerville Junior High. "Half of those would be in the lockers, never used," he said. "Now we use a virtual planner that allows the teachers and students to interact."
Students are thrilled to have laptops from the school. "It really helps you with your schoolwork so you can keep track of what you're on and if you can't turn it in during class you can turn it in at home," said eighth-grader Alec Richards, 13. "You can get on to the Internet for assignments. You don't have to go home and look things up."
With the distribution of the netbooks, Hogge had two concerns: physical safety and Internet safety. The netbooks that students use cost about $320 each, so he wanted to reduce loss. They are durable with nonslick rubber surfaces to reduce breakage if dropped. The school spent more than $200,000 on the computers.
Since the curriculum is Web-based, nothing is saved on the computer hard drives. If students forget their netbooks, they can access assignments through any computer at the school.
When students use their computers to access the Internet away from school, usage is filtered through the school's service to control content accessed.
"The students understand that it is a privilege to have these computers, and they come in with them charged and they protect them," Hogge said.
Teachers have been receptive to integrating technology into instruction, Hogge said. Many in the district were excited for the transition. "Teachers see the advantages. We have great teachers and each student is going to have an exceptional experience," he said.
With classes of about 36 students, the technology is necessary and speeds the evaluation process, Hogge said. "Teachers are able to give tests and teach concepts with immediate feedback from students. They know the percentage of students who understand the concept they were taught," he said. "In the past, students took an end-of-year test and we got the results in October. Now the students and teachers get results the same day. It has greatly improved the integrity of our test."
Hogge said the netbooks are only a tool, like a calculator, and "students won't be on them all day." Teachers can control student access to the Internet in classrooms and block and limit sites during a class period.
In addition to Internet and netbooks, each classroom has a projector, sound system and document camera.
"The three R's are no longer reading, writing and arithmetic. They are rigor, relevance and responsibility," Hogge said.
The school building was designed to facilitate learning. Halls are divided into "houses" similar to pods, each with four rooms and an extension teaching area similar to a lounge.
Preparing the new school for teachers, staff and students was a huge undertaking that Hogge could not have done without the community. They were given access to the building only a week before the start of school.
Hogge sent out a request to the community for 100 volunteers and more than 300 showed up. "Parents were cleaning up garbage, breaking down boxes, vacuuming and moving," he said.
Hogge also sent out a call to young men who needed to fulfill Eagle Scout projects. He has already had 15 Boy Scouts complete their Eagle projects in what he refers to as Phase 1. Scouts were assigned individual science rooms to set up. This included organizing, labeling and stocking an entire classroom.
Another Scout took on the entire ribbon-cutting project and another was responsible for the open house and arranging tours.
Hogge has now moved to Phase 2 with a new group of Scouts who are working on Eagle projects. They will label classroom supplies and chairs and organize classrooms. All totaled, 30 Boy Scouts will receive their Eagle Scout rank by accomplishing projects to help open the school, Hogge said.
Hogge has worked in the district for 16 years.
2011 Davis junior high enrollments
Bountiful Junior High • 600
Centennial Junior High • 1,030
Centerville Junior High • 1,000
Central Davis Junior High • 950
Fairfield Junior High • 1,050
Farmington Junior High • 850
Kaysville Junior High • 975
Legacy Junior High • 1,081
Source: Davis County School District